Shawn Lemon won't be back with Montreal Alouettes, but wants to keep playing in CFL

Montreal Alouettes’ general manager Danny Maciocia confirmed veteran defensive lineman Shawn Lemon will not be back with the team in 2026.

The 37-year-old is a pending CFL free agent and is currently set to hit the open market on Tuesday, February 10. He can negotiate with other three-down league teams during the communication window.

“We’re going to move on from Shawn. If you take a look at the way we are structured on the defensive side of the ball … with Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, with Josh Archibald, with Lwal Uguak, they’re Canadians, they’re ratio-changers (at defensive end),” Maciocia said from the winter meetings in Calgary.

“We anticipate that’s how we’re going to line up here in ‘26. We’ll go to training camp and see how that all unfolds. From an edge position, we’re dealing from a position of strength with our Canadian players.”

Lemon spent the last three seasons in Montreal. His best campaign with the Alouettes came in 2023 when he recorded 26 defensive tackles, nine sacks, two interceptions, one touchdown and one forced fumble in 13 regular-season games that year. The proven pass rusher helped Montreal win the 110th Grey Cup by registering nine tackles and four sacks in three playoff games.

“I want to continue playing in the CFL and believe I’m the best pure pass rusher in the league,” Lemon told 3DownNation.

The Charleston, South Carolina native has played 147 regular-season CFL games with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Edmonton Elks, Ottawa Redblacks, Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts, B.C. Lions, and Alouettes, recording 270 defensive tackles, 103 sacks, 30 forced fumbles, three interceptions, two special teams stops and one touchdown.

The six-foot-two, 248-pounder was a CFL all-star in 2022 and earned the West Division’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player award that same year. He was an East Division all-star in 2016 after recording 14 sacks in 16 games with the Argos.

The three-time Grey Cup champion has the most sacks among all active players and a higher sack rate than Willie Jefferson, who has 77 QB takedowns in 178 regular-season games with Edmonton, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg.

Lemon ranks No. 12 on the CFL’s all-time career sack list:

Shawn Lemon won’t be back with Montreal Alouettes, but wants to keep playing in CFL

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